Splitting Up
by Lily Hanson
Summary: "Serrator pissed off too many people," Serena said. "He pushed too hard, too fast and that was his undoing." "You think Archanon is going to do the same?" "I don't know," Serena shook her head. "I'm just telling you more bad guys isn't always a bad thing for the Rangers. Don't freak out."
1. Cammy and the White Ranger

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Dino Charge. This story is fan-made._

It was recess time at Amber Beach Public School. Cammy was on the playground as usual, racing around with her friends. It was a welcomed sight to anyone who knew her story. Serena, who was on yard duty, watched from a distance with a smile.

Since her sister had been born, Serena had been the protective type. When she heard stories of Emily being picked on in school, it triggered in her an urge to fight. No one would harm her sister, not on her watch. But as Emily grew older, she grew stronger. She joined the Samurai Rangers and made great friends there who supported her growth. Serena was both proud and saddened to see her sister didn't need her anymore.

Serena's need to protect didn't stop there. It spread, helping her to land a job as a guidance counsellor at a school in Panorama City, then later earning her a similar position in Harwood County where she met Gia and the Megaforce Rangers.

Working with Gia created an itch in Serena that she couldn't ignore. She grew tired of helping kids find their way out of trouble and instead wanted to help them stay out of it. She wanted to grow strong, courageous humans to keep them from feeling damaged and lost. The best way she knew to do that was to become a school teacher.

So she worked at her degree and lucked out. She landed herself a job as a fourth grade teacher in Amber Beach. It was a bit of a commute in to work each morning, but she loved all her students. And while she did love them all equally, there was a special place in her heart for Cammy. She knew the little girl's story. Cammy had an unfair start at life. To watch her grow, make friends, and find her strengths already in school was incredible to watch, and even more amazing to be a part of. However, as the minutes ticked down to the end of recess, Serena began to notice something strange about Cammy. She had let her friends continue to play without her and now was just staring out at the forest that bordered the school's boundaries. She took one quick look at the yard to be sure no other students were getting themselves into trouble then walked over to Cammy.

"See something?" she asked the little girl. Cammy looked up with a shrug.

"I think everyone should go inside," Cammy stated. "And I think I have to call my sister."

"Why?" Serena looked out into the woods. She knew all about the Dino Charge Rangers, but hadn't shared that knowledge with Cammy. It wasn't necessary.

"I just think it would be best."

"Is there someone out there?" Serena asked. Cammy nodded her head.

"It's a bad guy."

"Is it like the last one that came to our school?"

Cammy nodded again. Serena pulled out a walkie-talkie from her vest and relayed Cammy's message to the office. Right away, the bell for recess rang, calling all the students inside. However, Cammy didn't budge. Serena stayed by her side.

"You should head in too," she told the little girl. "The school is going to phone the police."

"No. I need to phone my sister," Cammy said. "Trust me, Mrs. Smith. I have to."

"I trust you, Cammy. You just need to trust me. The school will..." a blast was heard in the distance and Serena felt the ground shake. She grabbed Cammy and held her tight.

"Can I call her now?" Cammy asked. Serena shook her head.

"I'll do you one better," she said and took her Samuraizer from her pocket. Cammy stared at it strangely.

"What's that?"

"Just stay behind me, kid, alright," Serena said. She glanced over her shoulder, saw the school yard was clear and hopped over the fence. Then she reached over and pulled Cammy up and over to the other side. She knew it wasn't wise to take the young girl with her. At the same time, the school's doors would be locked up, with no one coming in or out. In Serena's judgement, Cammy would be safest staying with her.

"We shouldn't be going this way," Cammy warned. "It's a monster I saw. They're super dangerous. You could be killed!"

"It's fine, Cammy."

"But... but..."

"Cammy, it's fine," Serena told her with a smile, then held up her Samuraizer, "Want to see something cool?"

"O-Okay..."

Serena traced her Earth Kanji in the air. The symbol appeared as a bright light right in front of Cammy's eyes. The little girl watched in awe as Serena spun the symbol and then was suddenly transformed into a white Ranger.

Serena removed her helmet and smiled at Cammy, "Ta-da!"

"Which one are you?" Cammy asked.

"Samurai White. From Panorama. Remember Master Xandred?"

"Master who?"

"Big red guy?"

"Nope."

"Remember the Samurai Rangers at least?"

"Nope."

"Oh, come on. It's only been four years," Serena frowned. Cammy counted backwards on her fingers and then held one hand up.

"I was only five," she said. "I didn't know the Power Rangers back then."

"Great."

"So what team were you?"

"Samurai."

"Samurai what?"

"Just Samurai."

"Really?" Cammy asked. "Because we're Dino Charge. Right before us was Megaforce. You're just Samurai."

"Super Samurai?"

"That's stupid."

"How about we just focus on the alien you said you spotted?" Serena asked, feeling a little deflated Cammy didn't recognize her suit. Cammy nodded her head.

"Okay. He looked like... big."

"Be more descriptive, Cammy. It's just like writing. What kind of big?"

"Tall."

"And..."

"Pointy."

"So he's tall and pointy?"

"And red. And black, and white and he has weird shoulders that stick out over his head. He kind of looks like the statue of liberty but... he's really just a bad guy."

"Have you ever seen him before?"

"No," Cammy shook her head. "That's why we need to call Kendall. She's a Power Ranger too. She's purple. The coolest colour."

"White is pretty cool too."

"Okay. But it's not the coolest."

"Whatever you say," Serena sighed. She put her helmet back on then took Cammy's hand. "Just stay close to me, alright?"

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yes," Serena nodded. "I am a Power Ranger."

"Can you fight monsters?"

"I... Yes, Cammy, I can fight monsters."

"As good as Kendall?"

"Yes, as well as Kendall. Now shh, we're getting close."


	2. Watching

Cammy watched with uncertainty as aliens fought amongst themselves. It was Heckyl, Wrench and Fury taking on Singe, a monster who claimed to be Lord Archanon and another who said his name was Doomwing. Serena didn't want to interfere, having claimed to Cammy that when the bad guys wanted to destroy each other, it could work in the Rangers' favour. Of course, they couldn't leave, just in case this battle turned.

"We had something similar happen," Serena stated to Cammy as they watched the battle from a hiding spot, peaking out only occasionally. "This other monster, Serrator, wanted to take control of the Earth for himself. Xandred didn't take too kindly to that."

"What happened?" Cammy asked.

"Serrator pissed off too many people," Serena said. "He pushed too hard, too fast and that was his undoing."

"You think Archanon is going to do the same?"

"I don't know," Serena shook her head. "I'm just telling you more bad guys isn't always a bad thing for the Rangers. Don't freak out."

"I kind of hope the new ones win," Cammy said and looked out at where Heckyl was battling with Lord Archanon personally. "That's Heckyl. I want to call him a name, but I'll just get in trouble for saying it. He liked Kendall, a lot, and she doesn't like him. But he doesn't care."

"That worries you?"

"Everything worries me," Cammy sighed. She let herself fall back into the dirt, picked up a little pebble and tossed it. "I thought being a super hero would be cool. You know, save the world, stop the bad guys, have super cool powers. It's none of that."

"It's hard," Serena agreed.

"And I'm too little to do anything. I can't fight, I'm too scared of all the monsters..."

"Can I share a secret with you?" Serena said and Cammy looked up briefly before nodding her head. "I'm really scared of all the monsters too."

"You?"

"Always have been," Serena said. "I still am. I have nightmares still that some monsters are going to come and take my kids, hurt my husband, kill me. It never goes away."

"You're still scared."

"Terrified," Serena nodded. "And your friends, all the Rangers, they're probably scared too. They just... they can't show it. None of us can. We can't let the bad guys know we're scared because that'll just give them more power."

"Really?"

"It's like dealing with bullies," Serena said. "If the bully thinks he's getting to you, he's going to keep trying to hurt you. But if you show the bully that you're not scared of him, and that you think you can stop him, he's already going to start second guessing himself. Monsters and bullies are the same."

"Heckyl doesn't like it when Kendall doesn't do what he wants," Cammy nodded. "But... then he just gets angrier."

"Yeah. Unfortunately monsters have super powers that they can use against us. That's why we have our Ranger suits. But that doesn't change the fact that we need to stay brave. We need to..."

"Mrs. Smith, look out!" Cammy shouted and Serena turned to the battle field to see Lord Archanon blasting Heckyl with a powerful gun. Heckyl was blown from his spot on the ground, and the energy released by the blast came right towards Serena and Cammy. The white Ranger grabbed Cammy in her arms, pulled her in close to her chest and then dove for the ground.

"Are you okay?" Serena asked Cammy when the dust settled. Cammy shook her head and held up her elbow. The skin at the joint had been scraped off and was bleeding just a little. It was nothing compared to the shock of the blast Serena had felt against her back, but at least Cammy wasn't seriously hurt. "We'll get you a band aid for that as soon as we can get out of here, alright?"

Cammy nodded her head and covered her elbow with her other hand. Serena tucked the girl behind her then looked to the site of the blast. Lord Archanon and his monsters had grabbed Heckyl and were cuffing him. Heckyl's friends were nowhere to be seen.

"Lock him up. Make sure he doesn't get out," Lord Archanon stated to Singe and Doomwing as all four of them walked away. Serena breathed a sigh of relief, but was even happier when she saw the Dino Charge Rangers rushing up. They were too late to stop anything from happening, but at least she knew she could pass Cammy off safely. The little girl, seeing her friends, rushed off.

"Kendall!"

"Cammy?" Kendall frowned and removed her helmet just before catching Cammy in her arms. She had known that the alien bio-signs were uncomfortably close to Cammy's school, but never expected to see the little girl close to where the fight had been, especially after seeing the blast from a distance. "Are you okay?"

"I got a cut," Cammy said and showed Kendall her elbow. It was nothing more than a scrap, certainly a very minor wound compared to what could have been.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Jeremy asked his youngest sister. "It's the middle of the day. You should be at school."

"I'm with Mrs. Smith," Cammy said. "I saw a new monster by the playground."

"Mrs. Smith your teacher?" Jeremy frowned. Cammy nodded her head then pointed over by the trees. There, the Dino Rangers were surprised to see a white Ranger leaning against a tree trunk. Jeremy wiped his visor with his hands, certain he had to be hallucinating. "Your teacher is a white Ranger?"

"Just Samurai," Cammy nodded and wiggled out of Kendall's arms. She brought her team over to her teacher with a smile. "Mrs. Smith, these are the Dino Rangers!"

"A Power Ranger teacher?"

"And not the first," Serena nodded her head, but the others could tell she was in a little bit of pain. "Cammy was safe the whole time, I promise."

"How about you?" Kendall asked.

"I'm no stranger to trouble," Serena shrugged then nodded to Kendall, "Ms. Morgan, nice to see you again."

"Where are your other students?"

"They're safe inside the school. Cops should be there already, and if I know my school well enough, it'll be the Silver Guardians. They'll know I'm on duty and they'll trust that I'm keeping Cammy safe."

"Will they come looking for her?"

"Gia will try to reach you through your communicator to let you know what happened and make sure Cammy's safe."

As they spoke, Tyler leaned into Shelby, "Do you get the feeling Ms. Morgan already knew Cammy's teacher was a Ranger?"

"Ms. Morgan knows everything," Shelby shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't see this coming, but I'm not surprised."

"Can you get back to the school okay?" Kendall asked Serena. The white Ranger nodded her head and moved away from the tree. She could stand, but there was a pain in her back that made her wince. Even through the helmet, the other Rangers could tell there was a pained look on her face. Jeremy walked around, checking out Serena's back. Her Ranger suit was torn up a little. It was nothing too serious, but if the blast had been enough to break pieces of the Ranger suit, it had to have been powerful.

"We'll take you back to the museum to rest up for a bit," Jeremy offered. "It's the least we can do."

"Gia and Jordan will be out here looking for me," Serena shook her head. "I'll be fine until they can show up."

"I'll contact them," Kendall insisted. "I'll let them know they can stay focused on keeping the school safe and getting the other students home to their parents. You can come back to the lab with us."


	3. A Little Experience

Kendall had checked Serena over for serious injuries after taking her back to the lab. The White Ranger had kept Cammy safe. Kendall thought the least she could do was tend to Serena's pain. She only complained her back was a little sore, but Kendall thought it was best to check it out anyways, just in case.

It also gave Serena time to fill the Rangers in on what she saw.

"This Lord Archanon fellow captured Heckyl?" Chase asked. "Just like that?"

"He seemed pretty tough from what I've gathered," Serena nodded her head. "That could be a good thing though."

"You'll have to explain that," Tyler said. "Heckyl's already tough enough. If this Lord Archanon guy is even stronger..."

"They're a lot cockier when they're stronger," Serena explained. "And if that's the case with this guy, he may underestimate just how powerful the eight of you are. You can easily take the upper hand that way."

"He also may not know exactly what's been going on," Riley stated. "If he's taken Heckyl prisoner, he's likely not going to want to hear what Heckyl's been up to. He won't even know what to expect from us to begin with."

"On the flip side, we don't know what to expect of him," Jeremy pointed out. "We're going in just as blind as Archanon."

"Maybe not," Kendall shook her head and started to walk to the bookcase at the back of her lab. The Rangers had hardly ever seen her reach for any of the books, and had assumed for a long time that they were books she had written for herself about the energems. She was always taking notes on her research, documenting anything new she found out, powers that were associated with the energems, where they were found, the Zords they were bonded to and more. Kendall pulled out a book that seemed much, much older than the rest. "Keeper mentioned a Lord Archanon a long time ago. Back before I met Koda. Sledge, apparently, was hired by Archanon to capture monsters that would be used in his army."

"I may have overheard something along those lines," Serena nodded her head. "Heckyl was a prisoner before."

"Archanon was searching for a power source to make his army unstoppable. According to Keeper, he had heard of such a source on a planet far from Earth, but in his search, he ended up destroying the planet and all who inhabited it. At least, that's how the story goes."

"Was he looking for the energems?" Shelby asked. Kendall shrugged her shoulders and opened the book.

"I'm not certain. I never had the chance to ask Keeper about it. I was so focused on trying to find the energems here. But Keeper did keep a journal."

"Is it that?" Jeremy asked and pointed to the book in Kendall's hands. She nodded.

"He was working on translating it into English, thinking it could help me with my studies. Let me read up on it for a while and I'll let you know what it says about Archanon."

"In the meantime?" Tyler asked.

"In the meantime, we hope Lord Archanon decides he wants to do a little sightseeing on this planet before he sets out to destroy it. We also hope he's not yet aware of our existence. That'll give us the time and edge that we need."

"In other words, head back upstairs and get to work," Riley nodded his head. "Come on, guys."

Shelby picked up her books while the boys grabbed their aprons and they filed into the elevator. Once they were back into the museum, they headed into the cafe. Jeremy hung back with the slow walking Serena. He wanted to have a couple words with her.

"Thanks for... whatever you did back there."

"I couldn't in good conscious let a child get hurt," Serena shrugged. "Honestly, I've suffered worse. I'll be back to normal in a day or so."

Jeremy nodded his head and felt a little relieved. He was new to the Ranger business. He had heard of them as a teenager, but since most Ranger teams appeared within the State of California, and he lived a few states away, he hadn't paid much attention to them since. His parents did technically live in the city of San Angeles, so in 2007 when Operation Overdrive had been the newest team, he did check into the news from time to time to be sure the attacks didn't threaten his parents. However, since then, he hadn't needed to bother much with Ranger activity; only the few times when it was the world being threatened and not just an individual city.

"So, is it a coincidence my little sister's teacher happens to be a Ranger, or is there some kind of god looking after Ranger families?"

"When you figure that out, you tell me," Serena said with a little chuckle. "There's enough of us now that we tend to bump into each other all the time in our regular lives. We're a little community."

"That's... weird."

"A few favours were called though to land me the position of Cammy's teacher, though," Serena explained. "After Wrench appeared in Cammy's school, Gia managed to convince the principal to hire me. Played it off like I had plenty of experience dealing with kids and alien attacks. It's not completely true, but I am probably a lot more qualified than most people who could have been hired."

"Who is Gia?"

"Yellow Ranger? Pirate suit? Team right before yours? Saved the whole planet? Could morph into any past Rangers and more using little keys?"

"That kind of sounds familiar. Two years ago, right?"

"Wow, you really are new to this stuff if you don't know Gia," Serena chuckled. "We're all usually pretty familiar with the team that's come right before us."

"Who was right before you?"

"That's... complicated, actually," Serena frowned. "I said usually. That implies it's a rule, and rules generally have exceptions."

"So Gia is a past Ranger. Why does she care so much about Cammy?"

"Because despite her initial impression, she cares about people a lot," Serena stated. Jeremy chuckled and nodded his head.

"Yeah, I have a sister like that too."

"Gia told me about Cammy's... situation. Said she thought Cammy could benefit from having a teacher like me in her life. I did help Gia out with her own troubles quite a bit. And with the added bonus of being a Ranger, she knew I could keep Cammy safe if there was another attack at school."

"Lucky for us, Gia decided to play it that way," Jeremy nodded. "I... I have no idea what would have happened if Cammy had seen Archanon and decided to investigate herself."

"I doubt she would have done that," Serena shook her head. Jeremy shrugged.

"I don't know what she would have done. I'm just really glad she had you there to keep an eye on her."

"Cammy's a great kid," Serena smiled. "She deserves the best life she can get. I want to make sure she gets it.

"Well, thank you," Jeremy nodded. "That means a lot to my family."

"Can I just ask one, itsy bitsy favour?" Serena asked a little nervously, but also with a bit of a smirk. "You can say no and it won't affect how well I'll look after your sister."

"What is it?"

"My kids love dinosaurs right now," Serena said. "My older binge watches all three Jurassic Parks and Jurassic World and my youngest wants to do everything her older brother does. They would really, really love a personalized tour of this place. If it's not too much trouble of course."

Jeremy smiled and pointed to Shelby sitting in one of the booths, "Personalized tours are her department actually. I'm sure if you asked, she would love to hook you up."

"Seriously? That'll really make me mom of the year. Do you think she would mind if I brought my nieces and nephews?"

"I'm sure that would be fine. How many do you think would be coming? She might want an extra hand."

"Eight," Serena counted. "But that's if Lauren and Ally want a break from motherhood for an afternoon. I mean, they're new moms so they're pretty wiped. I'm sure the break would be welcomed but..."

"Eight kids?"

"Plus my brother in-law may want to come back and he can be pretty childish at times," Serena nodded her head. "So I guess I can make a reservation for nine kids."

"You have a big family," Jeremy chuckled.

"Ranger family," Serena smirked. "When teammates start reproducing, the number of tiny humans grows pretty quickly."

"We can set that up with Shelby but I'm sure that'll be fine," Jeremy said with a little smile as he nodded his head. "I'll get Kendall to sign the free passes when she's not so busy."

"I'll pay full price," Serena offered. "I just want the private tour."

"You looked after my family today," Jeremy said. "I'll take care of yours."


	4. Midnight Surprise

Half a dozen books lay open at her table. Kendall had gone through most of them, and was making her way through her latest one now. It didn't matter that it was three in the morning, or that all the other Rangers had gone to bed back at their homes. It didn't matter that Kendall was yawning every few minutes. She needed to find out as much as she could about Lord Archanon as quickly as possible. It would mean the difference between staying ahead of the war and trying to keep up.

So far, she knew Lord Archanon was searching for the energems. Keeper had extensive notes on the villain's searches throughout many galaxies. She knew Lord Archanon had hired Sledge to trap monsters from around the universe in order to create a powerful army that would help him obtain all the energems. Fortunately, he hadn't found any.

But the good news stopped there. In her last book, Kendall had learned about the Dark Energem. Keeper had never mentioned it before, but he did have extensive notes on the powerful gem. Kendall had learned that when the ten energems had been created out of good energy, all their dark, evil energy had been contained inside one gem. It was the only thing with enough power to destroy the ten coloured energems in the Rangers' possession. Unfortunately, in Keeper's notes, he stated he believed Lord Archanon was already in possession of the dark energem. If that was the case, the Rangers were in for a lot of trouble.

Suddenly, the book ended. Keeper's notes finished mid-sentence and when Kendall searched, she couldn't find another book to read. Some of Keeper's notes were missing. She had been certain that when he had chosen her to help him find the energems, he had passed along everything he had. His book must have been somewhere. She scanned the bookshelf one more time, finding only her own notebooks. She searched Koda's caves, trying not to rouse the sleeping caveman. Sometimes, Koda liked to use books as pillows. However, tonight, Koda was using a rock, and there were no books to be found under his head or near his bed. So Kendall made her way upstairs to her office. She doubted she would leave anything Ranger related there, but thought it was best to double check, just to be sure.

She searched her office high and low, but there were no books about anything except her own books for research, her own publications and her notes, all of which were for the museum, not Ranger duties. Kendall sighed. Keeper either must not have finished his notes, or he must have lost the book. She didn't think it was like him to keep any information about the energems to himself. With a heavy sigh, she made her way to the Dino Cafe. At this time, her mind was racing with questions and ideas. She wasn't likely to get some sleep anytime soon, so she thought she would make herself a cup of coffee. She might as well work through the night trying to come up with some kind of weapon or new mode for the Rangers that would counter the power of the dark energem.

She turned on the lights in the cafe and made her way to the kitchen. She put the coffee filter in the machine, reached for the coffee grounds and then stopped. She turned around, seeing Heckyl standing behind her. She let out a little cry and jumped back, placing her hand over her chest.

"You surprised me," she told him with a frown. "What are you doing here?"

"I came for you."

"You were captured."

"Did you really think that was going to keep me out of trouble," Heckyl smirked.

"I was hoping for a little peace of mind."

"I'm hurt," Heckyl frowned. "You weren't going to try and save me?"

"I have better things to do."

"I'd have come for you," Heckyl said. Kendall rolled her eyes.

"Unfortunately, I know that's true. Look, Heckyl, whatever your plan is..."

"Destroy Archanon," Heckyl said and Kendall looked to him curiously. He smirked, "What? There's only enough room on this planet for one ruler. Did you really think I was going to let him steal my crown?"

"Are you asking for a truce?" Kendall asked.

"Unless you plan on handing over all ten energems so I can use them to fight Archanon, a truce won't do me much good," Heckyl smirked.

"So then why are you here?"

"For you."

"Heckyl, we've been over this..."

"You love Chase, you hate me, nothing I can do will change that, blah, blah, blah," Heckyl nodded his head and rolled his eyes. "We've played this game time and time again. You know, I did pick up on the hints. I also do have feelings."

"I believe that. You just don't care about the feelings of others."

"I did care about yours," Heckyl stated. "And in a way, I still do."

"But...?"

"But, since your feelings conflict with mine, the only way I can make myself happy is by ignoring yours and doing whatever it is I want. When I have all ten energems in my hand, that's what I plan on doing anyways. Why not make life a little easier for yourself and..."

"Why are you here, Heckyl?" Kendall interrupted him.

"I need your help."

"And if I refuse?"

"You don't have much of a choice, pretty lady," Heckyl smirked. "I'm not here to ask."

"We can call a truce," Kendall suggested. "You help us stop Archanon and then we both get what we want."

"That's not going to work," Heckyl shook his head as he reached for Kendall's purple energem. She slapped his hand away and took a step back. She felt the countertop digging into her back and realized, already, she was backed into a corner. She reached for her Dino-Com, but Heckyl trapped her hand in his blue light. She couldn't move even the tips of her fingers. Quickly, with her other hand, she grabbed her energem. Heckyl trapped her other hand, but not before the energem was wrapped up tight between her fingers. He couldn't snatch it from her unless he let her go.

"You're really not doing anything to convince me to like you more than Chase," Kendall told him while Heckyl pulled out a pair of cuffs from behind his back. "What are you doing?"

"Kidnapping," Heckyl stated. "And if you think your friends are going to find you, don't worry; they'll be looking in all the wrong places."

He pulled her arms behind her back and slapped on the cuffs. Kendall could still feel his powers letting her go so she tightened her grip on her energem. As long as it was in her hands, Heckyl couldn't use it.

"You're only making this harder on yourself," he told her. He removed the necklace she wore and put it on his own neck. Kendall still had her energem in her hand as she turned around to face Heckyl.

"What do you need me for?" she asked. "Most likely, I'll need a clear mind for it, in which case, I'll never..."

Kendall suddenly felt her whole body stiffen up. She couldn't move. She couldn't even blink. Heckyl walked up behind her. Just then, a terrible pain shot up her arm. She wanted to scream but couldn't.

Her body finally relaxed and she felt her right hand fall open. The energem slipped out from it and she heard it hit the ground. Heckyl stepped out in front of her, smirking as he revealed the purple energem to her.

"I have my ways," he said.


	5. Heckyl's Deals

When Kendall came to, she found herself on a cot. She could remember Heckyl dragging her out of the cafe, but nothing after that. She tried to push herself up, but felt a pain shoot from her wrist up her arm. She fell back into the cot and lifted her right arm to have a look.

It was bruised and swollen – definitely broken. She would have to keep off it. She tried getting up again, using her left hand only this time. She managed to sit up and look around the room. It was bare, with just the cot, a toilet and a sink. She felt like a prisoner. If memory served, she was a prisoner.

"Looking for these?" Poisandra teased and Kendall turned around to see the door to her room was nothing more than metal bars and a lock. Poisandra was holding out the keys to the lock, close enough to the door that Kendall could reach. The purple Ranger rushed to the door and tried to reach for the keys, but Poisandra pulled them away just in time. "Awe, too slow. Come on, Ranger, stretch! Stretch! You're almost there."

"Poisandra, enough!" Heckyl's voice shouted from down the hall and Poisandra lowered the keys, keeping them still just out of Kendall's reach. Heckyl walked up in front of Kendall's room to scold Poisandra, "We don't need any of that."

"But I'm just having a little fun."

"Do you want us to find Sledge?" Heckyl asked and Kendall frowned deeply. What did he mean by finding Sledge? He had been destroyed a long time ago when his ship crashed into Earth. Kendall couldn't believe that in all this time, Sledge hadn't come back to reclaim his ship.

"That's part of the deal," Poisandra frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I let you go; you're going to tell me where I can find my Sledgey-kins."

"You continue to tease my prisoner and I'll call off the deal."

"You can't do that!" Poisandra shouted. "I'll turn you into Archanon myself and then he'll destroy you!"

"You set me free against his wishes," Heckyl reminded her. "Once he's through destroying me, you don't think he'll do exactly the same to you for betraying him? As far as I'm concerned, this is my ship, you follow my orders and, if you're good, I'll take you to where I think your pathetic Sledge is hiding."

"But that's not fair!" Poisandra stomped her feet. "We had a deal. If you won't honour it then... then maybe I'll just let your prisoner go!"

She tossed the keys towards Kendall. The purple Ranger reached her hand out to catch it, but before the keys could fall into her hands she was shot back into the far wall of her cell. She hit the concrete hard and fell to the ground.

"Get out of here!" Heckyl shouted and Poisandra stormed off whining. Heckyl watched her go then leaned over to pick up the keys she dropped. He opened Kendall's cell and walked in. "I'm sorry I had to do that," he told her. "But, you see, I really can't let you leave right now."

Kendall pushed herself up and sat back against the wall, nursing her wrist and groaning about the pain in her head and back.

"I hate you," she muttered to Heckyl.

"Here, let me have a look," Heckyl said as he gently took her wrist. Kendall tried to pull away from him but found she couldn't. She had lost control of her body once again, making it clear that Heckyl was the one in charge. If he didn't want her to leave, she wouldn't be able to. It didn't matter what she wanted.

"It's pretty bruised up," he said and Kendall rolled her eyes. "Try not using it for a bit."

"It needs to be set," Kendall stated. "Otherwise it won't heal properly."

"And?"

"I'll be a lot more willing to cooperate if you at least take care of me," Kendall told him.

"Fine," Heckyl told her and walked out. He came back a few moments later with a thick cuff. "I don't have anything but this."

He placed her hand in the cuff then locked it inside. The cuff covered her hand, her wrist and forearm up to the elbow. She couldn't move even her fingers inside. It acted like a regular cast from the doctor's, but limited her mobility even more and made her feel more like a prisoner.

"Better than nothing," Kendall muttered. She then frowned when Heckyl locked a chain to the cuff, then strapped a simple wrist cuff to her other hand. "What are you doing?"

"I don't want you thinking you can escape," he told her just before he pulled her up to her feet, "Come. I'll show you around."

He held her by the arm as he walked her out of her cell. Kendall wasn't happy to be following him so closely, but figured at least with a tour, she could start planning her escape. Which way would be best for sneaking out in the middle of the night, given the opportunity.

"You must have heard," Heckyl started to speak, "Sledge is still alive."

"You mentioned it," Kendall nodded her head and took note that her cell was right next to what appeared to be a kitchen.

"Poisandra and I had a deal. She let me out; let me stop Archanon without her interference and I would take her to where I believe Sledge is hiding. I'll bet you can imagine her joy when she heard her oaf of a fiancé was still alive."

"Probably similar to Chase's when I get out of here."

"You aren't getting out," Heckyl shook his head. "I need you for too much."

"Heckyl..."

"You have been able to track down and obtain all ten of the energems," Heckyl stated. "In my escape, I remembered something important. Something about myself that I hadn't been aware of until now. There is a dark energem out there, Kendall. An energem with the power to destroy all the other energems, and it's in Archanon's possession."

"I'm aware," Kendall nodded. "And what am I supposed to do about that?"

"You're going to help me get the dark energem."

"How?" Kendall asked, holding up her cuffed hands.

"The same way you do with the Rangers," Heckyl said and took her down a hallway, past the kitchen, that led to a thick metal door. He opened it, let Kendall inside and watched as she looked around in awe.

"It's... it's my lab."

"A complete replicate," Heckyl nodded his head. "With all the latest tools and gadgets."

"But how?"

"You don't think I get into your base a couple of times and not remember what it looks like?" Heckyl smirked. "I've been building this for a while. Fortunately, Archanon has little to no idea what's been happening on Earth. So long as I keep the overgrown cotton candy quiet, this place will be our little secret."

"You built this? Alone?" Kendall asked as Heckyl pulled her over to her work station.

"I had Wrench help me," he admitted. "The up side to having a completely robotic species working at your command is that it is very easy to reprogram him. He won't be saying a word about this either. He can't."

Heckyl brought Kendall to the laptop and had her stand there. She could only watch as he attached a cuff to her ankle then chained her to the desk. She could see there was enough give in the chain that she could walk around her lab, but would barely be able to reach the walls or the door. She sighed loudly and held up her right hand.

"I won't be able to work well with this," she said.

"You'd do it for the Rangers, you'll do it for me," Heckyl told her. "Basically, anything you would do to help them, you have to do to help me. Easy as that."

"I'll help you stop Archanon," Kendall stated. "But if you think I'm going to help you destroy my friends..."

"We'll see about that once we get there," Heckyl smirked as he walked out of the room, locking the heavy door as he left.


	6. The Dark Energem

It was a wonder Kendall even bothered with a mortgage. She was never home. Since they had moved in together, Jeremy had probably seen her sleep in her own bed a handful of times. The other nights, she stayed in the lab, working until she passed out from exhaustion. He did worry she was pushing herself too hard from time to time. He remembered just how tired he had been through all four years of college when he would pull all-nighter to get assignments done on time. It wasn't a lifestyle he would endorse, but Kendall was her own woman. She could make decision for herself. The only thing he could do was keep his eye on her and make sure she wasn't doing anything to seriously harm her health.

His mornings were usually the same. He would get up, shower, have breakfast over video chat with his wife and daughter, then send Anna off to school and tell her how much he missed her. After that he would head into work, checking in on Kendall before starting off his shift if she didn't drive in with him.

Chase and Koda were already at the museum when he arrived. Jeremy dropped off the bag he brought his lunch in and told the boys he would be back after speaking with Kendall. They looked to each other with a frown. Jeremy paused and turned to them.

"What?"

"We thought she was coming in with you," Chase said.

"Kendall not in lab when I wake up," Koda nodded. "I think she go home."

"She didn't come home last night," Jeremy shook his head. "At least, she wasn't in bed when I got up this morning."

"Well she's not here," Chase answered. Jeremy reached to his pocket and took out his Dino Com. If anything could find Kendall, it was her own technology. He set his communicator to trace his sisters' and quickly found her signal coming from the museum. With a smirk, he pointed the screen to Koda and Chase.

"She must have come in early and snuck past you," he stated. Chase didn't seem convinced while Koda scratched his head.

"I just come from lab," he frowned. "I not see Kendall."

"Well, this says she's here," Jeremy told him.

"Call her," Chase suggested and he and Koda huddled behind Jeremy and looked down at his screen as the silver Ranger tried to contact Purple. Suddenly, they heard a communicator ringing from the kitchen. They looked to each other with a frown before they headed inside. Following the sound, Chase knelt on the ground and saw Kendall's communicator had fallen by the counter, right below the coffee machine.

Having an early cup of coffee seemed like something Kendall would do. Dropping and losing her communicator was not. Chase picked it up from the floor and looked to his teammates. Something wasn't right.

-Dino-Charge-

In the lab Heckyl had created for her, Kendall was busy working. She didn't want to help Heckyl. She was being forced to work against her will, but she didn't mind it too much, considering. She had just learned of the existence of a dark energem. She knew a bit about it so far, but there was still much more to learn. At the very least, here in this lab, she could work uninterrupted.

"Sentai 6?"

"My home planet," Heckyl announced as he walked into the lab, carrying a bowl on a plate. Kendall could already smell the soup and her stomach churned. She hated that Heckyl always insisted on serving her soup when he held her captive.

"I'm not going to eat that," she told him.

"You'll starve," he replied. He set the soup on a desk then walked over to Kendall. He peered over her shoulder. "So, Sentai 6?"

"These notes say that was the planet that was destroyed when Lord Archanon obtained the energem."

"Archanon's record keeper sure didn't miss anything," Heckyl muttered. "Except for the fact that Archanon himself destroyed my planet."

"So the dark energem comes from you," Kendall said with a frown. "What a shock."

"Actually, I was tasked with protecting it," Heckyl stated. "Of course, my memory is still a bit fuzzy..."

"Isn't that a pain," Kendall muttered sarcastically. Heckyl frowned as he continued to speak.

"It was my responsibility to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Something with that much power, especially evil power, could do a lot of harm."

"Whoever trusted you seriously needs their brains checked," Kendall stated. "You're one of the most vile people I know."

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I wasn't always who I am now? Maybe something, or someone, made me this way?" Heckyl asked with a deep frown. "I was once tasked with keeping the dark energem safe. It was a responsibility I took seriously. When Archanon arrived on my planet, I risked life and limb to keep him from obtaining it. But I was struck in the back, I fell and dropped the box that carried the dark energem. It fell out."

"And Archanon got it?"

"You think I'd make it that easy for him?" Heckyl frowned. "I dragged my battered body across the sand to keep the dark energem out of his hands, but as soon as I touched it... something happened to me. Snide was born."

"Snide came from the dark energem?"

"There's a reason he's worse than me."

"Depends on the situation," Kendall stated. "But go on."

"The new entity confused us, and Archanon abused that. He wiped both our memories. Next thing I know, I'm spending the next 65 million years in solitary confinement in Sledge's prison and the only thing I'm certain of is that if I obtain all ten energems, my life can go back to how it once was."

"Makes sense," Kendall nodded her head. "If the dark energem has the power of the ten coloured energems, then all ten energems must possess the same amount of power. They would be able to destroy Snide."

"Or the other way around," Heckyl stated. "At least, that's what I think. You're the expert. Is it true, if Snide obtains all the energems, can he erase me? Can he take complete control?"

"I'd need some more time to research," Kendall said. "And my resources here are limited, I..."

"You will use what you have here."

"Heckyl..."

"I want to stop Archanon. I want him to pay for ruining my life," Heckyl stated. "I also want you to work on a way to separate me from Snide."

"You want to be separated?"

"I have no idea what will happen when I am in possession of all ten energems," Heckyl nodded. "Snide could take control, the energems may chose to let him live. In fact, Snide may get all ten energems before me. He may destroy me. I can't take that risk. I want you to separate us so I can finish him off, once and for all."

"And what about the energems after that?"

"Don't worry, pretty lady," Heckyl smirked. "They'll still be immensely useful to me."

"I may have the tools in here to create something to separate you and Snide," Kendall stated and looked around the room quickly. "As for Archanon... I'm afraid there's nothing I can really do from in here. You don't have any of the technology I need to create any chargers compatible with your weapons."

"Then focus on me and Snide for now," Heckyl said as he started to walk to the door. Before leaving, he turned around and pointed to the bowl of soup he left. "It's getting cold."

"I'd rather starve," Kendall shook her head. "Besides, it's hard to eat and work when I've only got one hand."

"So be it," Heckyl said and walked out.


	7. Two Sides

Chase's jaw was clenched, his hands were balled up tight, his muscles tensed up and his heart broke.

"Play again," Koda demanded but Chase shook his head and slammed Kendall's laptop shut.

"We've seen it enough."

"How the hell did Heckyl get in here?" Shelby asked with a deep frown. Chase didn't listen to the answer. He didn't care. All that mattered was that Heckyl had walked out with Kendall, after cuffing her and breaking her wrist to steal her energem.

"It happened in the middle of the night. He could have taken her anywhere by now," Tyler stated. Chase kicked the desk leg.

"We have to get her back," Jeremy said.

"From where?" Riley asked. "Last we heard, Heckyl was Archanon's prisoner. Either they're trying to set us up for a trap, or Heckyl would be stupid to break free and then go right back to the ship."

"We can't just wait for Heckyl to try and bargain, can we?" Jeremy frowned. He turned to Koda, "We're not going to do that, right?"

"No. We find Kendall now!"

"Where?" Shelby asked as she opened up Kendall's laptop and showed everyone the empty screen. "Ms. Morgan's communicator is here, so it's useless and wherever her energem is, its signal isn't getting through. She could be anywhere on this planet, if she's even still here."

"But you can't expect me to just... sit around and wait for Heckyl to make the first move," Jeremy said.

"Maybe we can count on Heckyl's weird crush on Ms. Morgan to keep her safe," Tyler suggested. "She might not be in the greatest position right now, but... Heckyl wouldn't hurt her, would he?"

"He wouldn't hurt her?" Chase growled. "Did you not see him breaking her fucking wrist, mate? The man's unstable!"

"And Ms. Morgan's smart," Tyler said.

"Oh, you're right," Chase scoffed, waving his hand dismissively at Tyler, "Because the smart kids never get their asses kicked!"

"Chase, I'm just saying..."

"What if it was Shelby?" Chase asked and Shelby frowned.

"Hey!"

"You wouldn't be suggesting we just sit around on our arses and hope the crazy villain just decided to hand her back over, would you?"

"I..."

"Tyler!" Shelby shrieked when he hesitated.

"Of course I wouldn't," Tyler insisted, looking to Shelby, hoping he had convinced her. "But... maybe it would be the best thing to do."

"Well, excuse me," Shelby rolled her eyes.

"It's not like that," Tyler said to the pink Ranger. "It's just that... we don't know what we're running into right now. We don't even know where she is. If we go running into the ship demanding for her and she's not there, Archanon will know about us for sure. He'll know about her. He's going to have questions and someone will give him answers."

"So?"

"So, do we really want to make it a race to saving Ms. Morgan?" Tyler asked. "Whoever gets to her first gets to do whatever they want to her? I'm not saying we don't look for her. I'd never say that," Tyler glanced to Shelby and hoped she got the message he was trying to give her. "I'm just saying we approach this cautiously. We hope the fact that Heckyl likes her works in our favour to buy us a little extra time to figure out what to do."

"And if it doesn't?" Jeremy asked. "If something happens to my little sister?"

"Then you can pound on me all you want," Tyler offered. "I won't fight back."

"Hope you right," Koda said and bumped shoulders with Tyler as he headed for the elevator. He stopped when, before he could reach the sensor, the doors opened. Cammy stepped out with a bright smile on her face. She saw the Rangers looking to her in confusion and chuckled.

"After Archanon was seen in the forest yesterday, they kept the school closed," Cammy smirked. "I get a three day weekend and Jon and Bella said I could spend the whole day here while they're at work! How awesome is... Where's Kendall?"

Cammy glanced around the room again. She saw Koda, Tyler, Chase, Jeremy, Shelby, Riley and Ivan, but Kendall wasn't in the lab. It was an odd sight for sure. She was always in the lab.

"You want to take this one, Captain Positivity?" Jeremy looked to Tyler. The red Ranger gulped. It had been hard enough explaining their plan of attack, or lack thereof so far, to a group of logical adults. Trying to explain to Cammy that not only was Kendall missing, but they weren't yet going to storm Archanon's ship and demand for her return all while destroying him, Heckyl, and anyone else who dared to lay a finger on Kendall was going to be next to impossible.

"You see, it's rather... complicated."

"Did she fall asleep again?" Cammy asked as she started to make her way to Koda's caves. "She does that, you know. Sometimes I come down here and she's fast asleep! It's funny. She snores."

"Cammy, have a seat," Chase said, calling her over. Cammy looked nervously to her friends as she made her way over to the bench.

"What? What's happening?"

-Dino-Charge-

She absolutely hated working with one hand; particularly when that work involved helping the enemy. Heckyl had tasked her with finding a way to separate him from Snide; something Kendall felt was very possible.

When she first heard of the energems, she had no idea what she would find. Energems were powerful stones that had been lost millions of years before she was ever made aware of their existence. In that time, so much on Earth had changed. Kendall was certain some energems would be embedded in rocks or deep in the ground. Long ago, she had come up with a machine that would separate two different bodies. She never needed it. Luckily enough, the energems would always make their way to the surface of the Earth to be found. However, it meant she was familiar enough with the technology. She was certain she could build something to separate Heckyl and Snide.

And if her machine was a failure, well harming them both seemed like more of a bonus than a failure. She could see no way in which this experiment would go wrong. Until the door opened up, at least, and a fuming Poisandra made her way inside.

"He's... he's such a jerk!" she shrieked, stomping her feet. Kendall looked up at the heart-shaped monster with a frown.

"Excuse me?"

"He promised me we would find my Sledgy-kins," Poisandra shrieked. "I let him go and betrayed Lord Archanon for nothing!"

Kendall paused her work and smirked. Had an escape plan just fallen into her lap? She set her tools down and looked to Poisandra.

"What did you expect?" she said. "Heckyl is one of you. A bad guy."

"So?"

"Lies and betrayals are part of the game," Kendall told her. "You know, you really should have seen that coming."

"He infuriates me!" Poisandra cried out. "And now he's got everything he wants. A private ship, you, the chance to get all the energems..."

"What if he didn't?" Kendall asked. "You could let me go."

"And why would I do that?"

"Piss off Heckyl and Snide," Kendall said with a little shrug. "Pay him back for betraying you."

"So you get your freedom, and I still don't get my Sledgey-poo and I have to deal with an angry ship-mate? No thank you."

"Poisandra, I would owe you," Kendall stated, to which Poisandra turned in her direction. Kendall nodded her head and smirked. "And think about it. I'm the good one. We keep our promises."

She had no intention of honouring her promise. As far as she was concerned, if Sledge wanted to stay in hiding, if he was even still alive, he could. It would be one less alien to destroy. Of course, she didn't need Poisandra to know that. Not until she genuinely had her freedom.

"Keep talking," the monster said.

"There's nothing in this lab for me to use to track down anyone, much less Sledge. But let me go, help me get out of here and I can take you to my lab. You do me a favour and I can help you find Sledge."

"You would really do that for me?"

"I'm a little out of options right now," Kendall said and gestured to her cuffs and ankle chain. "Heckyl's hurt us both, we don't want to see Archanon taking over the Earth and honestly, I couldn't give a rat's ass what you and Sledge plan on doing, so long as you don't do it in front of me. Our goals line up."

"Would you really help me out?" Poisandra asked.

"If you helped me first."

"Are you seriously falling for this bullshit?" Snide asked as he stormed in. Poisandra shrieked and almost jumped a foot in the air, confirming to Kendall that since she had something to worry about with Snide walking in, she had genuinely considered being helpful. However, since it was Snide who came in and not Heckyl, it seemed Poisandra was quick to turn on Kendall in favour of not pissing off the monster who seemed to be running this small ship.

"Of course not, Snide," she shook her head. "I was just... testing her. Seeing if she really was going to help you out. Clearly, all she's thinking about is how to get out of here. I did you a favour."

"Why don't you stop talking with the prisoner and go be of actual use to me?" Snide said and pointed to the door. "Scrub the kitchen clean and do it right, otherwise I'll mail you back to Archanon myself and let him deal with traitors in his usual way."

Poisandra shrieked and ran off. Snide shut the door behind her then turned to Kendall.

"It seems Heckyl has tasked you with separating our bodies."

"If all goes well, you should both survive the process," Kendall nodded, certain that was the only right answer, except perhaps telling Snide that it would kill Heckyl.

"And you were going to do that? For him?"

"For whichever of you walked in when the machine was ready," Kendall stated. "I have no preference."

"Is it safe?" Snide asked. "When the split occurs, will we be vulnerable?"

"Maybe for a time," Kendall said. "I can't say I've ever had a part of me removed before but based on early testing, the process will take quite a toll on both your bodies. You may be slightly disoriented, nauseated, fatigued."

"How quickly will we recover?"

"Depends on your body," Kendall shrugged.

Snide seemed pleased with this response. At first, Kendall wasn't sure why. Both he and Heckyl would be weak for a time.

"Is it ready now?"

"It's operational," Kendall nodded. "Give me a little more time to test it and..."

"Time is something I don't have," Snide shook his head. "At any given minute, Heckyl could take back control, in which case I will be pulled from him."

"Does that make a difference?" Kendall asked. "You'll both be present by the end of this process."

"Are you telling me there's no difference?" Snide asked. "That being torn from within is only just as taxing as having a pest removed?"

"I... I guess not. It may be harder on Heckyl's body..."

"Good," Snide smirked. "Set it up."

Kendall nodded her head and picked up the first piece of the machine. She placed it on the ground then moved the next three pieces to the ground, creating a square.

"You stand in the middle," she said. "When I push the button a field of energy will build up around you. If all goes well, you and Heckyl will be individuals."

Kendall thought Snide would step into the square. Instead, he walked past it and grabbed her tightly by the arm. He pulled her back, moving her towards the wall until her ankle cuff tugged on her leg. Snide blasted the desk, freeing the chain and then turned back to Kendall and pressed her up against the wall. He put his hands around her neck and lifted her off the ground.

"You plan anything, scientist, while I'm weak, and I promise, it will be the last thing you do," he growled at her. "Make no mistake, I will be on my feet long before you can cause me any real harm. Understood?"

Kendall tried to gasp for breath. Snide was choking her and with her hands cuffed together, she couldn't do much to stop him. She knew she wouldn't be able to fight back. Panic crossed her face as her lips turned blue and she realized that if Snide wanted, he could kill her now and still be able to separate himself from Heckyl. All he needed to do was press a button, and he could do that from inside the square.

But just as she was starting to see spots in her eyes, Snide let her go. He ripped the remote from her hand and walked into the square. He pressed the button himself. As Kendall rubbed her throat and tried to catch her breath, she heard Snide screaming in the background. When she turned around to see what was happening, she watched Heckyl be ripped from his body and both of them were thrown to the ground. They lay there, unmoving for a moment. It did occur to Kendall to destroy them both, but she was without weapons. She would have to beat them to death, and as Snide said, she wouldn't be able to do any real damage, especially given his thick armour-like skin, before he got his bearings. So she watched with baited breathe and wondered what each would do when they were strong enough to stand once again.

Snide was the first to start to rise. He stumbled a bit at first, but it seemed like his body was recovering much faster than Heckyl's. Kendall realized his form was much more powerful and could withstand stronger blows. Perhaps that was why Snide was the side that attacked more aggressively. He could afford it. Whereas Heckyl's body was weaker, but he did have the patience and the cunning to make more elaborate attacks.

"Shit," Kendall muttered as Snide set his sights on her. She tried to get up to run, despite not knowing where she would go considering the door to the lab was shut and too heavy for her to open quickly. But as she started to run, Snide grabbed the long chain still attached to her ankle and tripped her. Kendall fell to the floor and then felt Snide dragging her closer by the chain.

He grabbed her, pulling her up. Kendall tried to pull away from him and was surprised when he let her go. However, he still held on to the chain around her ankle. He tripped her up again and this time, when he pulled her in, he wrapped the chain around her waist before he pulled her back up.

Kendall fought back. She had to. She could see how Snide wouldn't need her anymore if he had never been a fan of keeping her alive in the first place. Unlike Heckyl, he didn't want to keep her around for any reason, believing he could obtain all the energems without any help. She was sure he would kill her.

In her struggle though, she noticed that she was getting tangled up in her own chain, and Snide wasn't helping things by intentionally wrapping the chain around her any chance he got. Eventually her legs and both her arms were caught, and Snide had just enough chain left over to wrap it once around her neck. It wasn't too tight. She could still breathe, but it wasn't easy. She could feel the pressure on her neck, constricting her airway enough to cause a panic.

"What are you doing?" Heckyl suddenly yelled and Snide turned around, pulling Kendall with him. She heard Snide chuckle as Heckyl's expression was one of horror. Heckyl held out his hands, "Snide, don't. We can use her."

"We?" Snide asked. "You wanted to rid yourself of me. Now you think we can work together?"

"Maybe we can work out some sort of deal?" Heckyl suggested.

"Like the deal you made to Poisandra?"

"You suggested it!" Heckyl shouted. "We made that deal together! We broke it together! I will honour this deal if you just let her go."

"She has always been your weak point," Snide said. "Perhaps I can use that to my advantage."

"No!"

"Get out," Snide demanded. "Leave my base and don't interfere with any of my plans."

"Let me take her with me."

"She stays with me."

"NO!"

"I can kill her on the spot, if that's what you prefer," Snide said and suddenly Kendall couldn't breathe at all.

"Snide, don't do this."

"You know me well, Heckyl," Snide chuckled. "You know I will do it. All you need to do is leave and I'll let her live."

"With you."

"At least she'll be alive," Snide said. "But if you try to fight it, if you try to save her, you'll only lose her. Quickly, Heckyl, a decision needs to be made. She's already falling into my..."

"You hurt her, even just a bit and I swear..."

"She's only got seconds left," Snide taunted. Heckyl frowned deeply just before he turned and ran off. Snide released the tight grip of the chain around Kendall's neck, allowing her to just barely breathe once again.

Then he dropped her, dumping her body on the ground before he walked out and slammed the door shut. Kendall tried to free herself from the chain, but every time she moved, she felt them getting tighter around her whole body, her neck included. Snide certainly knew exactly what he had been doing when he tangled her up.


	8. A Little Help

There was only one place Heckyl could run: Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum. It was a huge risk, but compared to heading back to Snide or even going to Lord Archanon, it was the best bet Heckyl had for getting help without being slaughtered physically and emotionally.

He knew the back way into the lab. He knew every way in and this was going to be the best for him. He went around to the back of the museum, avoided being seeing by all the guests and any employees and then climbed into the mouth of a prop T-Rex. Twisting one of the teeth at the front, the back of the T-Rex's mouth opened up, revealing a slide. Heckyl made his way down and suddenly found himself in the lab.

"You son of a bitch!" he heard someone yell and before he could get on his feet he was grabbed by the shirt and slammed into the wall. Right away a punch knocked him in the side of the head. Normally Heckyl would fight back, but he did figure he had earned that blow.

And the one that followed. And the one after that. Heckyl soon felt himself hitting the ground once again, this time in unimaginable pain. He could also hear some crying, but it took him a minute to realize it wasn't coming from him. When he opened his eyes again, he could see all the Rangers glaring at him and Cammy, young Cammy, tucked fearfully behind her brother's legs. Heckyl put his hands up as he lay on the ground.

"I won't hurt you," he promised the Rangers.

"I won't make the same promise," Chase said and kicked Heckyl in the side. Heckyl curled up and groaned loudly in pain.

"Chase, stop it," Shelby said, pulling the black Ranger back and then gesturing to Cammy. The young girl had seen the Rangers fight before, but this was different. Heckyl, though he was a monster, appeared human. Cammy was already worked up. She didn't need to see her friends losing their temper and beating someone until he was no longer breathing. For Cammy's sake, Chase took a step back.

"You have some nerve coming here after what you did," he said. Heckyl nodded as he tried to sit up. He had hoped one of the Rangers would help him to his feet, but found none of them had moved even a finger. He pulled himself up, using the wall as support.

"I know what I did," Heckyl said. "But now I need your help."

"Where's Kendall?" Cammy demanded, but seemed terrified by her own voice. Heckyl couldn't blame her. He had caused her harm before. Now, though, he knew she had nothing to fear.

"Snide and I are no longer connected," Heckyl assured them. "And I... I have no intention of..."

"Save it and just tell us what you did with Kendall," Jeremy said.

"Archanon's arrival caused me a bit of trouble. I used Poisandra to free myself from my cell and decided if I was going to stop him for good, I would need Kendall's help."

"So you kidnap her?" Tyler asked. "In the middle of the night? And now you come back here, without her and..."

"Look, long story short, I had Kendall create a device that would separate me from Snide. She did, but Snide got a say in when it was used. He took advantage and he has her now."

"But you and Snide were..."

"We're not the same," Heckyl said. "Snide's got her, and I know him well enough to know that even though he promises he won't hurt her... We've got to get her out."

"And how do we know this isn't a trap?" Riley asked.

"I'm only offering a truce," Heckyl stated and showed the Rangers he had the purple energem in his hand. He held it out. Cammy, without thinking, ran to snatch it from him. Heckyl didn't stop her. With the energem in hand, Cammy ran back behind her brother. "Help me rescue Kendall from Snide. You'll have her back, I'll know she's at least safe. Then we can part ways."

"Or we can destroy you here and now, and find our own way to get her back," Ivan suggested and Koda nodded his head.

"I protect Kendall."

"I know where she is," Heckyl said. "You'll never find her. Not without me. I'd get her back on my own but... I can't. I need your help to keep her safe; you need me to find her. We need each other."

"I don't trust him," Shelby shook her head. "This is all way too convenient for him."

"This screams trap," Riley agreed. Heckyl held his hands out.

"Cuff me, if you want," he said. "Lock me up here. Don't let me go with you. Just... please, go get her back. Don't let Snide hurt her."

"I've got to do it," Jeremy stated to his teammates. "It's risky, I know but if there's even the slightest chance that this is true... I just have to do it."

Chase nodded his head. He didn't trust Heckyl at all, but this was their only lead to finding Kendall. He'd never forgive himself if he didn't try it out.

"What if we split up?" Riley suggested. "Half of us try to rescue Ms. Morgan, and the other half stays here and keeps an eye on Heckyl?"

"You all need to go," Heckyl said. "Snide is..."

"Snide not stop caveman strength," Koda huffed. "I go too."

"The rest of us will stay here," Tyler suggested and glanced to Cammy. The team was only seven strong, which meant splitting up would leave one half of the team shorthanded. He thought it was best if Chase, Koda and Jeremy went off on their own for a few reasons. First of all, if Heckyl was walking them into a trap, it would be less Rangers to rescue and more power to rescue them with. Second, it was probably better for a smaller team to do the rescue. They would be less likely to alert Snide of any trouble.

Finally, Tyler intended for Cammy to stay at the base. If Heckyl was also staying, he wanted more people to be able to keep an eye on the young girl. He knew it was what Kendall would have wanted.

Jeremy gave Tyler a little nod then knelt down and looked to Cammy. "You stay here, alright. Stick close to Shelby, got it?"

"But... but..."

"I'll bring Kendall back," Jeremy promised. Cammy shook her head. She looked to Heckyl, who she knew was going to stay at the base, and then back at her brother.

"What if something happens to you?" she asked. The thought that Heckyl might be lying hadn't been lost on her. As much as she wanted to do anything to bring Kendall home, she couldn't imagine losing her brother too if things went sideways. "I... I want to help."

"Cammy, that's very brave but..."

"I want to help!" Cammy demanded. She wasn't sure how she could help, but she was sure that Snide wouldn't expect her to come to Kendall's rescue. Perhaps that would be exactly what the Rangers needed. "I can help. Let me help!"

"Cammy, you'll stay here with Shelby and the others. You can help from the..."

"NO! I want to go with you and actually help!" Cammy demanded. Jeremy shook his head, but just as he was about to explain to Cammy that she was safest here, he noticed a purple glow shining out from between her fingers. He lifted her hand.

"Cammy?"

The glow grew unti it consumed Cammy's whole body. When it disappeared, a little purple Ranger was standing in front of Jeremy. His jaw dropped.

"This again?" Chase muttered from behind him and Jeremy glanced to him with a nod then had to do a double take on the black Ranger.

"What? Wait, again?"

"She can morph?" Heckyl asked, but his question was ignored by the Rangers.

"Cammy, do you really want to do this?" Chase asked the little girl and Cammy nodded her head. "You understand just how dangerous this is? You could be hurt or... or killed."

"You aren't seriously suggesting we take her along, are you?" Jeremy asked. "So she can morph..."

"Cammy's helped us once before. The PlesioZord is ours thanks to her. She can be useful."

"I don't care if she's the key to saving the whole damn universe. She is staying in this lab."

"I want to go!" Cammy shouted and stomped her foot. Chase nodded his head and collected the purple Dino Chargers for her.

"You stay close to us at all times, got it," he asked her and Cammy nodded. "You do what we say, exactly how we say it, okay?"

"Okay."

"Chase..."

"She'll be fine," Chase promised Jeremy. The silver Ranger was hesitant. He turned to Heckyl.

"This isn't a trap?"

"I promise. As soon as you see Snide, you'll know I'm not lying. Kendall needs help. The more of you who go, the better."

"We'll do this for now, then," Jeremy stated. He looked to Cammy, "Take my hand."

"But..."

"Just, take my hand," he said. "I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Cammy groaned beneath her helmet as she took her brother's hand, "This looks stupid," she muttered. "Last time I got to drive the PlesioZord. This time I have to hold a stupid hand."

"Cammy..."

"Bella said I'm allowed to call things stupid, not people," Cammy defended then stuck out her tongue, forgetting her helmet was covering her mouth and her brother couldn't see it.


	9. The Rescue

Kendall was on the ground where Snide had left her. She wasn't struggling anymore as she had learned that struggling only managed to tighten the chain around the body, making it harder and harder for her to breathe. As it was, she could barely take in a big enough breathe to satisfy her lungs. If the chain got any tighter, she was sure to suffocate.

Snide hadn't been back to see her. She had to think he had no use for her. She wasn't sure what he planned on doing with her, she just hoped it took him long enough so the Rangers could finally track her down.

Finally, after a while of laying on the ground and doing nothing, the door opened. Kendall turned her head ever so slightly to see who was coming for her. She frowned when she saw it was Poisandra but then remembered the deal she had tried to make with overgrown heart and hoped maybe that could still be her ticket out.

"Am I glad to see you."

"I wouldn't be," Poisandra said. "If Heckyl wants to keep me from my Sledgey-wedgie, I think it's only fair I keep him from the love of his life."

Kendall didn't like what Poisandra seemed to have in mind. As the alien approached her, she shook her head.

"Take me back to the Rangers. Heckyl will hate that..."

"I'll do one better," Poisandra said. She grabbed Kendall by the chain and pulled her up.

Just outside the room, Snide walked by and noticed the door was open. He walked down the hallway and peeked inside just as a bright light filled the room and Poisandra shrieked in anger. Snide chuckled to himself as he walked away.

"One less thing for me to worry about," he said with a smirk.

-Dino-Charge-

It was a strange feeling, hearing Heckyl's voice in his ear, leading them to a battle. Chase was so used to Kendall's voice telling him what to do, reminding him to be careful and letting him know it was time to use their newest Chargers. He wasn't afraid to admit, he much preferred Kendall's voice over Heckyl's.

"Just beyond the treers, there should be a pile of stones," Heckyl said. "The ship is beneath that."

"Under all that rock is a ship?" Cammy asked and scratched her helmet. She stared at the rocks. It was just two large boulders sitting on the ground, one leaning slightly on the other. At first, second and third glance, it just looked like rocks.

"It was concealed intentionally so you Rangers would never find it," Heckyl said. "I admit, I always had a plan to kidnap Kendall. This was where I was going to hide her."

"You're a real jerk," Cammy muttered.

"Just, trust me. There's an entrance in those rocks. You just need to find it."

"Is that all?" Jeremy asked as he, Koda and Chase started to circle the rocks, looking for a way in. Nothing seemed big enough, and nowhere seemed to lead to a ship. After a few spins, the boys had accomplished nothing except getting dizzy.

"I just lift rocks," Koda suggested. Heckyl spoke over their communicator.

"Don't do that. You'll alert Snide instantly of your presence. He'll kill Kendall for sure."

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" Jeremy asked and found himself waiting to hear Cammy scold him with a little gasp for having sworn. When it didn't come, he looked around for her. "Cammy? Cammy, where did you go?"

"Here!" she said and poked her head out from the top. "The way in is this way!"

She disappeared into the rock. The boys looked to each other before they noticed the angle of the leaning stone was just low enough that they could climb it. Chase chuckled and shrugged to the other two. Cammy did always love to climb up structures and fences whenever they were at the park. She liked getting as high as she could go, and would often give Kendall and her parents very small panic attacks when she lost her grip for a moment. So he wasn't surprised to see that Cammy's first instinct when faced with a leaning rock was to get on top of it.

Jeremy followed her in first, making his way up to the top of the rocks with some trouble. Koda was right behind, scaling the rocks without any issue. Chase was last, and glanced quickly at the surrounding area to be sure there was no one else around to follow them in.

"We're inside," Jeremy said as his feet hit the floor of a dark, quiet ship.

"Where is my sister?" Cammy demanded.

"She's in the lab, it'll be the hall to the right. Follow that down past the kitchen. It's the big metal door. You can't miss it."

"You find Kendall," Koda said to Cammy and Chase. "We watch for Snide."

"Sounds like a plan," Chase nodded his head and took Cammy's hand to walk her down. Before he could leave, Jeremy grabbed him by the arm.

"Keep her safe."

"I won't let anything happen to either of them," Chase promised. He then turned to Cammy and smiled at her behind his helmet, "Come on, purple Ranger. Let's find your sister."

"Follow the hallway," Cammy said and raced off. Chase needed to move quickly to keep up with the little girl. He also kept his eyes open for trouble. On the way over, Heckyl mentioned that Poisandra was hiding out in the ship as well, afraid that if she returned to Archanon, he would destroy her for betraying him. Snide wasn't the only monster they needed to worry about.

As they passed the kitchen and reached the end of the hall, Cammy saw the door Heckyl was talking about, only it was open. She hadn't been expecting that and slowed to a stop. Chase stopped right behind her.

"Did she get out?" he asked. He put his hand on Cammy's shoulder and stepped ahead of her; peeking into the room first to be sure it was safe. He found himself staring at Poisandra's back and watched her punch at something. When Kendall swung out from behind Poisandra, suspended from the ceiling by what appeared to be a chain, Chase felt his blood boiling again. He was about to announce his present, but Cammy did for him.

"Stop it you, stupid head!" she shouted and rushed out from behind Chase. Poisandra spun around and Chase was worried she would attack Cammy. His hand went straight for his blaster as he pointed it at Poisandra. However, the alien was more surprised than anything to see another smaller purple Ranger coming towards her, giving Cammy and opening to throw a little punch. Chase, not wanting Poisandra to hurt Cammy at all, added to that punch with a well aimed blast to Poisandra's chest. Poisandra flew back at almost the very moment Cammy's little punch made contact with her.

"Whoa!" Cammy said, looking to the damage she believed she had caused on her own. She glanced to her fist, "I'm so strong."

"Sure you are," Chase said as he rushed over. He lifted Kendall up, unhooked her from the chain on the ceiling and then set her on the ground. "Stay with her, alright."

"Not fair, not fair, _not fair_!" Poisandra screamed as she got back to her feet. "Why can't anything ever go my way once?"

"Stay where you are, Poisandra," Chase said and placed a Charger inside his Dino Blaster. "We're only here for Kendall."

"No! I'm tired of everyone getting everything they want but me!" Poisandra stomped her feet and looked ready to fight. Chase put his hand on the trigger. Suddenly, Heckyl was in his ear again.

"Sledge is on Sentai 6."

Chase shook his head, "What?"

"When I took over the ship, I wanted to make sure that Sledge wouldn't be a threat anymore. I found him not too far from the crash site. He was still unconscious so I took him to a transport pod and set him on a one way trip to Sentai 6. It's my home planet, it was destroyed by Archanon. He has no way to get back on his own. Tell Poisandra that."

"Sentai 6?" Chase asked for clarification but noticed Poisandra seemed to calm slightly when he mentioned the name.

"What about it?" she asked.

"Sledge is on Sentai 6," Chase stated and pointed to his ear, "I have Heckyl telling me he sent Sledge there after the ship crashed about a year ago."

"You're lying to me," Poisandra said.

"Poisandra, I promise you, that's the truth," Chase said. "You know how much Heckyl likes Kendall. Would he really jeopardize her right now?"

"He's really in your ear?"

"How do you think we found this place?" Chase asked. Poisandra nodded her head.

"My Sledgey..."

"You can get him back."

"Sledgey-poo!" Poisandra shrieked and raced out of the lab. "Don't worry, my love, I'm coming to save you!"

"She's weird," Chase stated with a bit of a laugh as he watched Poisandra race out. The he heard Cammy calling for him.

"Her lips are purple."

"Her whole body is a weird colour," he said.

"Not Poisandra," Cammy said and Chase turned to her. He saw Cammy pointing to Kendall and realized the little girl had been speaking about the purple Ranger.

"Oh shit!" he cried out. He dropped by Kendall's side and tugged on the chain, hoping to find a weak point somewhere, but when he pulled he saw the chain tightened. "Dammit!"

"Chase! Hurry!"

"I... Cammy, stand back," he said and pushed the little girl backwards before he pulled out his Para Chopper. Cammy screamed as he brought the weapon down on Kendall, pulling his swing just as he reached the chain. He'd hurt Kendall, but he needed to do it. He needed to break the chain.

It worked. He saw the chain had broken apart where his Para Chopper had hit. Kendall's stomach was cut a bit too, but it was just a superficial wound. He could treat that easily. He removed the rest of the chain, starting first with the piece around her neck. Then he pulled his girlfriend into his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Let me in, let me in!" Cammy said and pushed herself between Kendall and Chase.

"Is she okay?" Chase heard Heckyl over the communicator, and answered him only because it would let the other Rangers know Kendall was safe now.

"I've got her. We're heading out. Koda, Jeremy, meet us outside."

"A little busy here, Chase," Jeremy answered and was breathing loudly. Chase frowned.

"Did you find Snide?"

"Yes, and he's not pulling any punches. Koda! Are you alright?"

"I be fine," Koda said then roared loudly. Chase knew he needed to get to his friends. He needed to help them, but Kendall was still catching her breath and weak and Cammy... he couldn't leave her alone. He couldn't expect her to get Kendall to safety by herself.

He'd have to take them both with him. He scooped Kendall up in his arms and instructed Cammy to take her blaster.

"You're going to shoot it," he said and Cammy put her hands on her hips.

"Bella says I can't play with toy weapons. I don't think she'll like me playing with real weapons."

"You aren't playing, and I don't think she'll be any angrier than she already will be once she finds out you were the purple Ranger on this mission."

"Okay," Cammy said with a shrug. "I'll tell her she can be mad at you."

"Fine, whatever, just hold it... no, don't touch the trigger yet! Hold the blaster tightly and insert one of your purple Chargers into the mouth."

"Which one?"

"Any. Any one will be more than enough. Kendall's chargers are powerful."

"Okay," Cammy said and inserted the Charger, just like she had seen all the other Rangers do before. She looked up at Chase, "Like that?"

"Exactly. Now we're going to help the others, alright. When we find Snide, you point the blaster at him, and when I say, you shoot."

"What if I hit the others?"

"They... they'll be fine," Chase said. "Just make sure you mostly hit Snide, okay?"

"I'll try," Cammy said nervously, but Chase knew he didn't have any more time to coach her. He told her to follow him as he rushed out of the lab and he followed the sounds of the cries to where Jeremy and Koda were locked in a fight with Snide. Chase kept his distance, turning his back to the fight to keep Kendall protected.

"Cammy, hold the blaster up."

"Now?"

"Yes. Finger on the trigger and pull when I give the signal," he said and glanced over his shoulder to get a view of the battle. "Alright, make sure that thing's pointed at Snide. You'll get him for sure as long as you aim it in the right direction."

"Okay," Cammy nodded her head.

"When the others are out of the way," Chase said and watched as Koda was thrown into the wall and Jeremy ran to his side to help him up. Snide was in the middle of the room, taunting them. "Now!"

Cammy pulled the trigger and was thrown backwards off her feet as a blast left the barrel. Chase covered Kendall up as much as he could and heard the blast go off inside the room. Snide screamed loudly in pain and Chase breathed a sigh of relief. He had been hit.

Suddenly, Koda and Jeremy stumbled out of the smoke, looking a little banged up, but since they were on their feet, Chase knew they were fine. He told them they had to leave quickly and led the way out. Koda scooped Cammy up in his arms and the three boys ran.


	10. Home Sweet Home

Heckyl waited patiently in the lab for the Rangers to return from their rescue. He had already heard confirmation that Kendall was alright and the Rangers were headed home, but until he saw her for himself he was filled with worry. To pass the time until she returned, Heckyl looked around the lab. However, he found he wasn't analyzing the lab like he normally would. He wasn't trying to get an idea of what Chargers they had on hand, or where they kept their energems, or which way he could come in and out of easiest. He was just looking, with no intended malice.

It was a bit of a strange feeling. For so long he had had Snide trapped inside of him, influencing his every decision – his every thought and feeling. Now that Snide was gone, Heckyl was free to be himself again, and he remembered himself as being trustworthy. He had been entrusted the dark energem for a reason.

Maybe he wasn't such a bad person. Maybe Snide's influence had been stronger than even he knew. The more Heckyl thought about it, the more he realized he didn't care for the energems. He was free from Snide, he didn't need them. And he certainly didn't need to hurt anyone to obtain them. Perhaps if he had asked the Rangers kindly long ago to help him out, they would have considered it.

He also thought about Kendall, about the way he had treated her and his stomach lurched. He'd done nothing but hurt her from the start, most often with that intention. He claimed to love her, yet never showed her any true kindness, love or respect. It was no wonder she turned him down so often. It was no wonder he had never been able to convince her to change her mind, even when he had been in the body of the man she loved most.

He disgusted himself. He truly did. He hated the way he behaved. He hated who he had been for the last few dozen million years. He had been truly despicable.

"I am so sorry," he spoke. Tyler, Shelby, Riley and Ivan turned to him, all with a frown. He knew they would be confused. "I... I guess I have been a horrible, completely terrible person lately."

"What else is new?" Riley scoffed.

"You have to understand, Snide had a lot of control over me," Heckyl stated. "He poisoned my thoughts, my actions my..."

"To my understanding, you were two separate beings trapped within one body," Ivan said. "In my own experience with the matter, I know that's still no excuse for such vile behaviour. Never, in my eight hundred years trapped inside Fury, did I ever once imagine harming anyone innocent the way you did Lady Kendall."

"And I understand that is the way you see it..."

"You kidnapped her," Shelby said. "You asked her to separate you and Snide. You had to know that would mean Snide would have access to her."

"I didn't think that part through, I... I never intended on letting him hurt her."

"But he did."

"You did," Tyler said. "You've hurt us all. You attacked our friends; you've threatened our lives..."

"Snide poisoned me. He... it's the dark energem's doing. You don't understand the power it has," Heckyl said. Riley shook his head.

"That's not an apology," he said. "And it's going to take a lot more than an apology to fix what you've done. We can't trust you, Heckyl. We can't trust anything you say or anything you do."

"I led you to Kendall. I wasn't lying about that."

"But she was in trouble because of you," Ivan stated. "We watched your actions through the magical recording devices. You took her. You broke her wrist."

"I..."

"We appreciate you getting her back," Tyler said. "But that's as far as we're willing to let you go."

"Are you kicking me out?" Heckyl asked and shook his head. He put his hands together, begging the Rangers, "Please, you can't kick me out. Snide won't let me return and Archanon will lock me up for good! It's a fate worse than death, I assure you."

"We can't let you stay here. This is our base."

"Not to mention, its karma if Archanon locks you up or Snide kicks you ass," Shelby shrugged. "It's what you've been doing to us this whole time."

"But I was..."

"Apologies don't have buts, Heckyl," Riley said. "I suggest you find somewhere else to stay, before the others get back. Chase, Koda and Jeremy really aren't going to want to see you."

"I will prove to you I've changed," Heckyl told the Rangers as he walked to the elevator. "I'll show you the dark energem's influence is far more powerful than you could imagine."

"Fine. Prove us wrong," Tyler said. Heckyl gave a little nod, promised the Rangers he would show him who he truly was and then left the base. The four of them glanced at each other, unsure of what to do with Heckyl, each hoping he wouldn't be a problem for them in the future.

Finally, they got the call on their communicators.

-Dino-Charge-

"You let Cammy come along?"

"Shh," Chase chuckled and shook his head as he offered Kendall some tea. Her voice was hoarse as her throat and neck had suffered horrible bruising, as well as the rest of the body from the constricting chains. The best advice Chase had for her in the moment, other than letting herself rest, was to keep quiet. It would be the fastest way to heal. "The purple energem bonded with her. She really wanted to go."

"But you..."

"Shh."

"She's nine."

"I'm aware of how old she is. I had her in my sight the whole time," Chase chuckled. "Your brother and Koda helped to keep an eye on her. Trust us, the only person we cared about more than you back there was Cammy."

"Good."

"Kendall, I'm serious, stop talking," Chase said. "Now, I'm going to ask you yes or no questions. All you have to do is nod, alright? Are you okay?"

She nodded her head. Chase smiled.

"Good. Are you comfortable?"

"I'm sore."

"Kendall, come on. Your voice will stay like that forever you know."

Kendall shot him a look that told him she knew he was lying. Her voice, like her body, would heal in time. Not that her voice was her main concerned. She glanced down to her hand, wrapped up in a solid cast. She would be down to one hand for a few weeks at least due to the break in her wrist. It would make her research and her Ranger duties much more complicated. She hated what they meant for the team.

"You'll be fine now," Chase promised her and kissed her forehead. "Just get some rest right now, okay?"

Kendall nodded her head and leaned back into her bed. Chase tucked her in then walked out of the room. He made his way to the kitchen, where all the other Rangers and the Fisher parents were sitting. When Chase entered the room, Mrs. Fisher walked out.

"Is she okay?" Jeremy asked.

"She's... Kendall," Chase chuckled. "I can tell she's already trying to find a way to get back to work as quickly as she can."

"I don't envy the bruises and stuff," Shelby said. "But taking it easy for a few weeks sounds pretty relaxing. I'm kind of jealous."

"Jealous?" Chase smirked. "I can break your arm too, if you want."

"You know what I mean."

"The important thing is, she's okay," Mr. Fisher said. "And if this has done anything, at least now we're better aware of what we're up against. Heckyl seems not to be much of a threat anymore."

"It's just Snide, Archanon and his army," Tyler said. "And they all seem pretty ruthless."

"Not to mention Poisandra's on her way to Sledge right now. He could be back," Chase added.

"But we know all our enemies are out for themselves," Tyler stated. "They're all aggressive. We can be just as aggressive."

"And we have all ten energems on our side," Jeremy agreed. "We have power."

"But the dark energem is in Archanon's hands," Riley reminded his teammates. "And according to Heckyl, it's got the power to destroy all ten of our energems alone. I think that's our biggest concern right now."

"Logically speaking, if the dark energem was made from the dark energy of all ten energems, that means it's only just as powerful as our energems," Shelby said. "So can't our energems also destroy it?"

"Logically," Riley nodded.

"I want to destroy Heckyl," Cammy said, looking up from her homework book. "Can we do that first?"

"Our first opportunity, we will," Chase promised. "Once Heckyl gives us a reason to destroy him, believe me, I'm going to rip him apart."

"From now on, we'll need to be extra vigilant," Tyler said. "Keep your energems on you at all times. If we need all ten of them to stop the dark energem, that means we can't afford to lose even one. Archanon would have too much power."

-Dino-Charge-

Back upstairs, Mrs. Fisher knocked gently on her daughter's door before walking in. She saw Kendall sitting up in her bed, staring out the window. She watched her daughter for a moment, allowing herself to feel the relief of knowing Kendall was home safe and sound. She had only been informed there was trouble after Jeremy, Chase and Koda brought Kendall to the hospital for her wrist, but the moment between ' _Kendall was kidnapped'_ and ' _but she's okay now'_ was one of the worst.

"You're the one keeping me on my toes," Mrs. Fisher said somewhat jokingly as she sat down on Kendall's bed. "A part of me wonders, if we had you as a child, if you would have been an absolute hell-raiser."

"I'm sorry," Kendall whispered. Mrs. Fisher shook her head.

"I'm just glad you're alright," she said. She leaned in next to Kendall, laying on the bed next to her. She put her hand on Kendall's cast, inspecting the work the doctor had done. She was no doctor herself. She had never considered the profession. However, where her daughter's health was concerned, she wanted to be sure everything was done according to her high standards. Seeing the cast looked professionally done, Mrs. Fisher approached. "Does it hurt?"

"Not as much anymore."

"Are you taking the drugs the doctor gave you?"

"One."

"Kendall..."

"It's fine. It's not too bad. I can handle it."

"Don't try to be brave," Mrs. Fisher said. "Were you scared?"

"It's just a cast."

"Not about that. In that... ship place. Were you scared?"

"I thought I was going to die," Kendall nodded her head. "I thought I'd never get to see you again. Any of you."

"You're home now. You're safe."

Kendall nodded her head, "I know."

"I don't have to leave, if you want," Mrs. Fisher suggested. "If it would help you relax a little bit, I can stay with you."

"You would?"

"Of course," Mrs. Fisher chuckled and put her arms around her daughter. "That's why I came up here. You'd be doing me a world of good too."

"Can you stay?" Kendall asked.

"I will."

"Can you also not wrap your arms around me?" Kendall asked. "It's not that I don't like it. It just reminds me of the chains and..."

"Say no more," Mrs. Fisher said and removed her arms. "I'll just lay here, okay?"

Kendall nodded her head with a smile and shut her eyes, allowing herself to rest. It was a strange feeling to have her mother by her side, but one that brought Kendall joy. As a child, Kendall's mother had never been the giving kind. Unless it suited her, she didn't have the time or patience to calm Kendall after a nightmare, after a rough day, or after what Kendall thought was a scary movie or scene on TV. Kendall had been conditioned to treat her worries and fears by herself.

Having a mother around who would sit by her, make her feel better and help her feel safe was refreshing. Kendall liked it.


End file.
